Printing machines have to be supplied with ink during operation. In particular in offset printing machines, inking systems which take ink off an ink fountain and transfer it to the impression cylinder(s) are provided for this purpose. Sometimes, it is necessary to refill ink in these ink fountains depending on the consumption.
For this purpose, various devices are known which show different solution approaches.
In offset supplies, ink is sometimes delivered into the ink fountains via a pipe system.
To this end, usually double-action piston pumps are used, which build up pressure in the pipe system. The control of the ink fountain filling is performed via the actuation of an ink valve, which opens as required and closes at the end of the filling process. The piston pump continues delivering during the filling process.
Moreover, ink supply systems, such as DE 199 53 324 A1, are known in which the ink feed is effected via ink cartridges. A further ink supply device of that type is disclosed in DE 10 2004 001 751 A1.